The Light
by Jayciefer
Summary: Max Tate loved many things, among them Beyblading and Duel Monsters. When he's invited to go to a Duel Monsters tournament, the rest of the team goes with him. Little does everyone know, there's a lot more going on than a silly game. Main Pairings: KaixRayxMax, MarikuxBakuraxMarikxRyou
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Light

Summery: Max Tate loved many things, among them Beyblading and Duel Monsters. When he's invited to go to a Duel Monsters tournament, the rest of the team goes with him. Little does everyone know, there's a lot more going on than a silly game.

AN: Hey there everyone! So I'm going to go ahead and apologize. I've taken a LONG (as in about 4 years) hiatus from and I'm kind of nervous about how this is going to go. But this idea came to me and I just can't get it out of my head. I know crossovers don't seem to do very well here, but I'm going to give it a shot!

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh or Beyblade, there would be a lot more yaoi going on. Since there isn't, I obviously don't own them :P

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Chapter 1: The Beginning

Max was at a lost. The normally perky young man was currently watching his team captain, Kai, and Kai's rival, Tyson, battle each other in a Beyblade battle. Beyblade has quickly risen to be Japan's number two top game, only lagging behind the top game in all the world played by all ages. Duel Monsters. The card game that so many people loved...That was, except for Max's team.

Max knew how everyone on his team felt about Duel Monsters. Tyson hated it because of the strategy part of it, Kai hated it because it was a "waste of time" and "took away from training", and Ray was indifferent towards it. Max didn't know how Kenny or Hilary felt about the game. But Max loved it. Max loved Beyblading as well, and that's where lied the problem. Max had been one of the few people who was invited to join a Duel Monsters tournament that was being hosted in America. He had received the email after winning an online tournament with the deck that he had in real life. Well...One of the decks. Max had two. Okay, perhaps Duel Monsters was a bit more of an obsession than a game to him..

But Max knew that he shouldn't go. His team would kill him for missing practice. Max had thought about inviting his friends so that way they could still practice while Max did the tournament as well, but he had quickly seen the flaw in that. Kai would expect his attention to be solely on Beyblading. None of his friends knew that he loved the sport, and he only played it online so that way they wouldn't know.

"Is something wrong, Max?" Max jumped slightly at the voice behind him, having been so lost in thought and watching Tyson and Kai's match that he hadn't even noticed that Ray had sneaked up behind him.

"Yeah! Everything's a-okay!" Max said, trying his best to smile brightly at Ray and giving him a thumbs up sign. But Max could tell that Ray wasn't buying it, especially when Ray did nothing but raise an eyebrow at him. Max let out a deep sigh and shook his head. "Just...Just forget about it Ray. It's nothing serious, promise!" Max assured his friend. Ray seemed to want to interject something, before Tyson let out a frustrated yell and the two turned their attention back on Tyson and Kai. Kai's Dranzer had just knocked Tyson's Dragoon out of the dish, and Tyson wasn't taking the third loss to Kai today to well.

"This is bull!" Tyson whined before pointing an accusing finger at Kai. "You're cheating!" Tyson yelled and Kai merely raised an eyebrow.

"If someone has to cheat to beat you, then they should just quit the game." Kai didn't mean it of course. Tyson was an amazing Beyblader. But Kai would never say that out loud. Max giggled as he watched the two continue to insult one another. Kai, with his duel colored hair that was light blue-purple bangs and dark hair. His eyes were a surprising dark red color, which you don't see quite often. Tyson, on the other hand, had dark hair that reminded Max of the night time sky. He also had dark blue eyes, which were the opposite of Max's ocean blue eyes. Ray himself had quite the unique look. His cat-like eyes were slit like a cats and his long hair that was bound in a white wrap.

Max was brought out of his musings when Tyson stomped away from Kai with an agitated look on his face, while Kai's face remained looking as indifferent as ever. Max couldn't help but to smile at that. Despite their differences, he knew that Kai and Tyson cared for one another as friends. Everyone on the team respected one another...Although Max felt like him, Kai, and Ray had a special bond for one another. Max could sense that the other two cared for him as much as he cared for them...And he felt like they were constantly tip toeing around it for some reason. Max wanted to bring it up, to see if they could find a way to make it work or at least admit it to see if perhaps Max was just going crazy, but he didn't want to risk upsetting their friendships.

"Max, it's your turn to cook." Kai cooly said and Max nodded his head before hopping up. Max didn't mind cooking. Besides, him and Ray were the only ones who could cook decently. Anything Tyson made was poisonous (you'd think someone who ate as much as him would be a decent cook), Kenny and Hilary do so much already that no one wanted to trouble them, and Kai was to picky about everything they eat. So it was normally better to just let Ray and Max rotate.

As Max busied himself about the kitchen, he was surprised when he turned around and saw Kai. Kai normally disappeared from the house whenever Max or Ray started cooking, and only came back when someone texted him. "Hey Kai? Did you need me for something?" Max asked after he put the lid on the pan that was boiling the noddles, tilting his head to the side. Kai opened his mouth to say something, before seemingly thinking better and walking away. Max's large blue eyes trailed after Kai, a frown on his face. "I wonder what that was about..." Max said out loud before returning to dinner.

Ray was meditating as he normally did before dinner when someone knocked at his door. Ray blinked a bit in confusion. Most people knew that Ray detested being interrupted when he was meditating, so he figured this must be something pretty important. Ray opened the door and was even more surprised to see Kai standing there. The eldest member of the team was leaning against the doorframe as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Kai?" Ray asked with a confused look on his face. "What do you need?"

Most of the time, Ray would make small talk before asking what the other needed. But Ray's been around Kai long enough to know how Kai was. Kai was blunt and forward. And he absolutely _hated_ small talk.

"Max is planning to run away."

Ray blinked as he heard Kai's words. Surely he had heard wrong...

"What did you say?" Ray asked, his face showing nothing but pure confusion.

"Max is planning to run away. He has a bag packed in his room." Kai said, his face flashing with the first emotion Ray has seen from him today. Anger. Ray had thought that Kai was being extremely hard on them during practice earlier, especially Max. And then something hit him.

"What were you doing in Maxie's room?" Ray teased and couldn't help but to chuckle as he saw one of Kai's eyebrow twitch.

"I wasn't. I was making my way to the bathroom and saw a one of his bags packed and on his chair." Kai explained. To be truthful, Kai was nervous. Kai wasn't good with emotions and stuff, but he did know that he felt strongly towards the youngest team member of his. As well as Ray. Kai's mind was constantly battling with himself between the two. He wanted to be in a relationship with them, but he knew that the probability of that was extremely low. So it was best to try to get into a relationship with one. But no matter how hard Kai debated, he couldn't pick one over the other. And now, the thought of Max just up and leaving had Kai nervous as hell.

"I'm sure Max isn't doing anything drastic. Why don't we just ask him?" Ray asked and Kai shook his head.

"He'll just deny it." Kai pointed out and Ray sighed.

"Kai, has Max ever given us a reason to not trust him or his answers?" Ray asked with a raised eyebrow. Although, in his mind he was starting to get quite worried to. Max _had_ seemed pretty distracted earlier...Was he planning on leaving? "Look...If it'll make you feel better, why don't we just look through the bag? He's cooking after all."

Ray was normally against snooping. Everyone was entitled to their privacy after all. But Kai's words had formed a sinking feeling in his stomach. So Kai and Ray made their way to Max's room and snuck in. Max's room was clean, although not as clean as Ray or Kai's who both were a bit OCD. Okay, Ray was a bit OCD. Kai was full on OCD. "Why don't you go through his bag, and I'll peek around the room?" Ray asked the older guy and Kai nodded his head. The two continued moving around Max's room quietly when Kai suddenly noticed something.

"Ray...Look." Ray noticed Kai standing up with an envelope in his hand. Ray walked towards Kai.

"What is it?" Ray asked and Kai shrugged before opening the already opened envelope and pulling out a piece of paper.

 **Congradulations Mr. Tate,**

 **For winning the online Duel Monsters tournament you have been invited to come to a exclusive Duel Monsters tournament in the United States. It will have only the best of the best, so make sure to bring your A-game! Hope to see you there!**

The two stood there in complete shock. They kept reading it over and over again, wondering if they were missing something. They weren't shocked out of it until they heard a voice in the doorway.

"What are you two doing in here?"

Both Kai and Ray tensed as they heard the voice, and turned around to see Max standing there. Max's eyes went wide as he saw the envelope, surprise clearly etched onto his face. "You guys went through my things?" Max asked.

"Max-" Ray began but was cut off.

"Get out." Both of the older boys reeled back by the surprisingly cold tone that Max had taken.

"Max-" Kai tried but once again was interrupted.

"I said OUT!" The normally happy-go-lucky boy yelled. The two quickly scrambled out of the room, Max slamming the door shut as he entered. "Dinner's ready." Max hissed before the door shut.

The two boy's stared at Max's door longingly before walking into the dining room. Tyson was there, already shoveling down pasta as if it would disappear if he didn't eat it fast enough. "Where's Hilary and Kenny?" Ray asked as he noticed the two of them not around.

"They went out to eat." Tyson spoke with his mouth full. "Apparently Kenny promised her a date." Tyson grinned before continuing to shovel down food while Kai looked on in disgust. The two sighed before getting their food and joining Tyson at the table.

"Did you know Max played Duel Monsters?" Ray asked Tyson and Tyson actually stopped eating for a moment to answer.

"Mhm! He's pretty good at it to. He tried explaining it to me, but it just ended up making my head hurt." Tyson said.

"Shocker there." Kai snorted while an agitated look came across Tyson's face.

"He got invited to go to a tournament in America, but said that he figured a certain _captain_ wouldn't let him go without us and figured you guys wouldn't want to go." Tyson explained and Kai frowned.

Kai didn't like the game. Alright, so he hasn't necessarily _played_ it. But it wasn't Beyblade, so he didn't like it. But he did like Max. And he didn't want Max to not be able to do the things he liked. Kai and Ray made eye contact for a moment before they heard footsteps coming down the hall and into the dinning room, Max making a point to not look in either of their directions.

"Pack your bags." Kai simply said and everyone gave him a odd look. "Max's been invited for a tournament. We're going to support him." Kai wasn't giving anyone an option. In true Kai fashion, it was more of an order. However, it was an order that everyone was happy to hear.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Light

Summery: Max Tate loved many things, among them Beyblading and Duel Monsters. When he's invited to go to a Duel Monsters tournament, the rest of the team goes with him. Little does everyone know, there's a lot more going on than a silly game.

AN: Hey there guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Remember, the more reviews the more motivation I feel!

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh or Beyblade, there would be a lot more yaoi going on. Since there isn't, I obviously don't own them :P

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Chapter 2: The Plane Ride and Landing

Max shifted nervously in his seat in the private plane. When Kai had told him at the dinner that they were going to the tournament, Max had thought it was a joke or that Kai would find a way to back out of it. But Max was, thankfully, wrong. Max found himself sitting at the window seat of one of Kai's private planes. Max couldn't help but to wonder just how rich Kai really was. He knew that his family was rich before they passed away, but he couldn't believe that Kai had money just to blow on a private jet. And so short notice! Three nights ago, Max had thought he was going to miss out on this opportunity. Now, Kai was helping it.

"Are you nervous?" Speaking of Kai. Kai had decided to sit next to Max on the plane, and had been eyeing Max out of the corner of his eye. Max had been fiddling with his deck, shuffling it and reshuffling it and drawing the top card before repeating the action in a nervous fashion.

"Kind of..." Max admitted. "I mean...This is the first time I'm entering a tournament by myself. Hell, this is going to be my first real life duel in general." Max knew that the duel experience was completely different. In real life, there were holograms that were so life like that Max used to have nightmares of certain Duel Monsters.

"If you have half the skill in this silly game than you do in Beyblading, you'll win." Kai said before looking off and Max's eyes practically doubled in size. Kai _rarely_ gave compliments. And the fact that he was trying to boosts Max's self-esteem...

"Thanks Kai...For everything." Max said with a smile and Kai nodded his head. Max decided to lay back and catch some sleep after putting his deck in his bag. He relaxed and fiddled with the bracelet that he wore as he waited for sleep to come over him, the bracelet that his father had given him on his birthday last year. It had an Egyptian style to it, and even had the Egyptian Eye of Wdjat engraved into it, who was the protector of lower Egypt in Egyptian Mythology. Max had always loved items like the bracelet, and has sketched it various times in his drawing book. Max's thoughts slowly started to melt away though as sleep took over his body.

 _They had awoken him. He could sense a war brewing by his sea. Men fighting and clashing with one another near the red sea. He had simply been sleeping, and these mortals dared to waken him for some petty skirmish? This will not go unanswered._

 _The sky seemed to darken as the figure resting at the bottom of the sea opened their eyes, a look of pure fury crossing their face as the water suddenly pushed up. The men who had been at war just mere seconds ago now fought against something they'd never defeat. The sea. Tendrils of water yanked at their feet, dragging their screaming bodies under the sear...Closer and closer towards the figure at the bottom. The figure's face couldn't be seen thanks to the darkness, but it's lips were twisted up in a blood-chilling smile as his victims struggled...And struggled...Until they grew lifeless and limp._

Max's eyes snapped open and he suddenly lurched forward, a scream of his own working up his throat before he clamped his mouth shut. His eyes were wide and frightened as he looked around...Only to realize that he was still on the plane and not at the bottom of some sea.

It was just a dream. No, a nightmare. But it wasn't real, and that's all that mattered. Max pushed himself up and made his way to the bathroom of the plane, splashing some water into his face as he took a deep breath. When he rose his eyes into the mirror, he jumped when he saw Ray standing right behind him.

"Max? What's wrong?" Ray asked with a concerned look on his face. The blonde's face was pale and clearly shaken up, and his eyes were a bit wider than normal. Max tried to give Ray a shakey smile, but in the end the smile slid from it's face.

"Nothing...It was just a nightmare." Max explained and Ray frowned. Ray moved forward and wrapped his arms around Max's waist, surprising the blonde haired boy. But after a few seconds, he untensed and relaxed into Ray's embrace.

"Want to rest by me until we touch ground?" Ray asked and Max nodded his head. As they made their way to their section, neither one of them noticed the eye of the bracelet on Max's wrist letting shining slightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is a time skip~~~~~~~~~~~

Not much longer, the plane landed which jolted Max and Ray out of their slumber. That, as well as a bright light suddenly going off.

"What the-" Ray said in surprise, trying to clear out the color spots that suddenly assaulted his vision and narrowing his eyes as he saw Tyson peeking at them from over his seat.

"What? You two just looked so adorable sleeping there with Max's head on your shoulder. And Ray, the way your head was resting on Max's head was absolutely _adorable_." Tyson teased them. Thankfully, Kenny and Hilary had the sense to start pulling Tyson away before either Max or Ray could do anything...Yet.

"Come on you two," Both looked up to see Kai standing next to their seat, a smirk on his face. "I would like to see New York before midnight. Plus, Max, your first match is tomorrow. You might want to start preparing." Max nodded his head as him and Ray got out of their seats and left the plane before it flew off. As they made their way to the hotel by foot, Kai couldn't help but to take in the sight around them with a sight. He never saw the appeal to New York. It was overly populated in his book, as well as dirty. But when he looked again, he also noticed how many more people were walking around so openly with Duel Disks than in their town of Japan. Duel Disks allowed people to play Duel Monsters with the holograms just about anywhere they go.

"Do you have one of those, Max?" Hilary asked as she pointed to a Duel Disk and the blonde boy shook his head.

"I don't," Max admitted. "I never duel in real life, and I figured I never would. So why waste the money? Plus, you see how that's shaped? It'd have been a bit hard to hide from you guys." Max said with a chuckle.

Kai couldn't help but to be a little bit agitated. Just how far did Max go to avoid them knowing that he played Duel Monsters? Did he really think that they would care _that_ much? Kai made a mental note to sit down with Max as soon as possible.

"Should we check into the hotel guys? Or should we-" Kenny was cut off by Tyson.

"Are you kidding? I'm starving! We need to get a bite to eat! Isn't that right Max?" Tyson asked and Max laughed.

"I agree with Kenny on this one." Max said. Although his stomach let out a sudden growl, disagreeing with his words. "Although...Food wouldn't be half bad either." Max said with a chuckle. Everyone nodded their head as they started looking around for a restaurant. As they continued walking, two guys suddenly bumped into Max causing him to stumble back. He would have fallen, had Ray not caught him.

"Watch where you're going!" Tyson yelled at the two guys who had continued walking. The two turned around, glaring at the young man.

"Did you say something, pipsqueak?" The taller man said. He had wild brown hair that was under a red beanie. The other one had a weird green color hair and gold glasses. Max immediately recognized them, being a Duel Monsters fan.

"Tyson, it's okay." Max said before smiling at the other two. "You must be Rex and Weevil! Are you in for the tournament?" Max asked with a bright smile. The two looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course we are. They wanted the best, so naturally they chose us." Weevil, the green haired boy, said with a smirk. "Don't tell me they let someone as trashy as you in."

Max faltered at that, and Kai's eyes narrowed dangerously. But before he could step in, Ray did so.

"Hey, you haven't seen my friend duel yet. So I wouldn't be talking to much smack." Ray glared and the green haired boy just smirked.

"I bet he won't even make it past the first round." Rex said with a smirk. Tyson was about to explode at them when a voice off to the side cut in.

"You know, I'd be careful if I was you. Your win/lose records aren't exactly the best right now." Everyone turned towards the new person, who was a beautiful blonde women. She had on a purple jacket and a white corset top with a purple miniskirt. Blonde locks fell gracefully over her shoulder as she glared at the two younger men.  
"You!" Rex growled.

"Hello there sweet cheeks. The name's Mai Valentine." The blonde women, Mai, said as she offered the others a smirk. "And don't let these two has beens put you down, kid," Mai said as she looked at Max. "They're just jealous because half of the people can't even remember their names anymore." The two seemed to sputtle before walking off. Not before making some comments though.

"You two better watch your backs!" They both yelled as they scrambled away.

"Sorry about those two, hon. They give duelist a bad name." Mai said with a smile as she looked at Max. Kai narrowed his eyes, feeling like she was flirting with the other blonde, before she turned towards everyone. "As an apology on their behalf, why don't you come with me and my friends? We're going to meet up at a restaurant. My boyfriend's treat." Kai untensed a bit at that, but still seemed to hover right behind Max while Ray hovered to the side of him.

"Sounds great!" Tyson answered for them, his eyes practically in heart shapes as he eyed the gorgeous blonde. "Why don't you lead the way?" Tyson asked and just about everyone besides Mai had to resist rolling their eyes.

This was going to be a long dinner.


End file.
